A degree in manufacturing?

NEW WINDSOR — The supply of Hudson Valley workers with advanced manufacturing skills falls short of the demand, representatives of a dozen companies agreed Wednesday during a SUNY Orange forum.

James Walsh

NEW WINDSOR — The supply of Hudson Valley workers with advanced manufacturing skills falls short of the demand, representatives of a dozen companies agreed Wednesday during a SUNY Orange forum.

It was the second of two meetings held by the college as it attempts to determine the value of investing in potential degree- and certificate-earning programs to fill the gap.

"Machinists are non-existent these days," said Larry Fryer, president of Fryer Machine Systems Inc. in Patterson in Putnam County. "I'm not seeing a new pool of labor coming in, and hopefully we can do something about it here."

Manufacturing jobs in general have an unjust reputation for being dirty and dead-ended, said Stephen Knob, director of Orange County's Employment and Training Administration. "That's not always true these days," Knob said, "and there is a career ladder."

Advanced manufacturing techniques depend heavily on technology to run and maintain production processes with robotics and other computer-controlled devices. Skilled workers are needed to set them up, monitor and maintain them.

Some company representatives expressed concerns about replacing an aging workforce whose ranks had been filled for years by ex-IBMers. Others saw a need to not only make high-skilled hirings, but also to upgrade the skills of current employees.

The Orange County's Industrial Development Agency, which funded the forums, supports an educational program to keep and attract businesses here, provide jobs for young residents, and provide a way back for displaced older workers.

Participants of both sessions will reconvene in late July to review a compilation of their opinions, which will be forwarded to the college's administration in August, said Robert LePage of the Center for Occupational Research and Development in Waco, Texas, a national nonprofit that advocates change in education.

LePage, who was retained by the college, led Wednesday's session at the Orange County Business Accelerator, an incubator of entrepreneurial enterprises.

Some business people, including Carmelo Comito of Universal Thin Film Lab Corp. in Newburgh, and Edward Winiarski of Vantage Manufacturing & Assembly in Poughkeepsie, saw a need to instill a work ethic in younger employees while equipping them with basic math skills.

As a group, the business people saw entry-level employees often lacking motivation and critical-thinking abilities. The issue of tardiness was brought up several times.

John Goulding's company, Ditron Inc. of Stormville in Dutchess County, makes micro-miniature metal stampings for the electronic-connector industry supplying automotive, aerospace and medical markets. The company has done these things for decades, but it seems that nowadays "people have no interest in manufacturing," he said.

"I think we need a change in philosophy for the whole education system," Goulding said.

jwalsh@th-record.com

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